Shakespeare Behind Bars

As you from crimes would pardon’d be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

This weekend I rented Shakespeare Behind Bars. It’s a documentary about a program at a Kentucky prison where the inmates rehearse and perform a Shakespeare play. The documentary was filmed for almost a year when the inmates were getting ready for a production of The Tempest.

The Tempest is a play about many things, including punishment, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, confinement and freedom. It was very heartbreaking and moving to hear the actors/inmates (which included burglars, drug dealers, and murderers) talk about their crimes, to see their honest emotions, and to hear how themes in the play related to them.

One of the inmates, who sexually abused seven girls, said, with a catch in his voice, “The people who need mercy the most deserve it the least.”

The arts can make a difference. It can change lives. One purpose of prison is rehabilitation. The Warden of the prison was very profound when he said, “How they leave when they leave this island is key. They can put us out of business. They just don’t come back.”

Theatre can help people work through issues, for those performing it and for those watching it. Shakespeare’s themes are relevant today because we aren’t that much different from those who lived 400, 500 or even a thousand years ago.

I guess you could say that Shakespeare said it best (which he usually did):
With my nobler reason, 'gainst my fury
Do I take part? The rarer action
is in virtue than in vengeance.”